In the 10th of a series of pre-season reports, HarryFromBath assesses the mood around the Championship clubs by delving into their forums, looking here at how things have progressed for the Potters after relegation this summer. Reports on Derby County and Nottingham Forest will follow later today, with all of the teams in the division covered between now and the start of the season.

“We should really have a squad able to compete for the top two places, but a lot of our players will be surprised by the standard of this league so I will say play-offs”, “I normally try and play it cool, but objectively it's hard not to see us finishing in the top six”, “We should have some optimism here.”

There are two schools of thought currently afloat among Potters. One strand of thinking sees their talented squad regrouping under a decent manager and repeating Newcastle’s immediate return to the top flight, whereas the second is still both mindful of and scarred by last season’s relegation.

“It still has not dawned on a lot of folk yet what an absolute calamity last season’s horror show was”, “There are some good teams in the Championship and this not going to be easy”, “I'm not sure we'll do a Sunderland this year and have successive relegations, but I reckon we'll finish around 16th.”

“We needed an overhaul but that needed to start the day we were relegated. Ship out the old guard, raise funds and build a younger team that had several of the best Championship players. Too many players who bombed are being polished to go again and we have not bought players early enough.”

Gary Rowett

“I am feeling quite confident with Rowett and Co steering us through some choppy waters”, “He will be too organised to have us in trouble”, “The negative is that the passengers from last year need to be replaced. Not a negative really, a truth”, “If he’s any good he'll see the issues and be able to act.”

“We have a good, young and enthusiastic manager.” The 44-year-old left Derby County to take over at the bet365 Stadium in May following the dismissal of Paul Lambert. Potters see him as the right man to rebuild their squad. “He is aware that we need a massive overhaul, so hope springs eternal.”

“Rowett is going to have to carry some burden of expectation this season and rightly so, but he will deliver”, “He should keep us in mid-table rather than flirting with relegation but there has been no fresh start. We have same failing squad with little investment two weeks before the season starts.”

Restructuring After Relegation

Many Potters would have welcomed a wholesale clear-out this summer but the club have taken a more measured approach. The news of the retention of midfielder Joe Allen and full-back Moritz Bauer on longer term contracts has been positively received.

Keeper Adam Federici has arrived from Bournemouth along with experienced wingers, 26-year-old Tom Ince from Huddersfield and James McClean, 29, from West Brom, while 22-year-old Nigeria international midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo has also arrived from Portuguese club CD Feirense.

Adam Federici

At the time of writing, the club have had a bid rejected for Aston Villa defender James Chester, but they have strengthened their attack with the arrival of 25-year-old Benik Afobe from Wolves. Two players, midfielder Gianni Imbula and striker Bojan Krkic, have returned to the club from loan spells abroad.

Looking at departures, Xherdan Shaqiri (to Liverpool), keeper Lee Grant (to Manchester United), winger Ramadan Sobhi (to Huddersfield) and defender Kevin Wimmer (on loan Hannover 96) have switched clubs. Defender Glen Johnson and midfielder Stephen Ireland are currently unattached.

“Etebo was bloody brilliant, early days of course but he looks a very good player indeed.” One arrival has already caught their eye. “Very good touch, loads of energy, always looking up for a pass whilst not being afraid of putting his foot in”, “He’s such a positive player, always looked to pass forward”

Tom Ince

“Ince looks tricky and will terrorise full-backs. He cuts inside and allows his full-back to pass him out wide”, “McClean looked positive and quick. It’s refreshing to see a winger go at the full-back on the outside and get crosses in, the only disappointment was we only had Afobe in the middle to aim for.”

Many would welcome another striker. “Afobe looks a good strong target man but I fear he could end up being somewhat isolated”, “Afobe is not a lone striker. He’s good with back to goal but he looks like a good old-fashioned number 10. With another striker will be able to lay chances off for them.”

Pre-Season Excursions

After beating Walsall 3-0, the Potters headed out to Germany where they recorded two losses, 2-0 to VfL Bochum 2-0 and 2-1 Hamburger SV. Returning to England, they played out a 0-0 draw at home to Wolves on Wednesday. Their final game is back in Germany against St Pauli on Saturday.

“Could be the starting XI for Leeds that.” The line-up against Wolves (above) is expected to be very similar to the one for their season-opener at Elland Road. “Swap Fletcher for Etebo and Jack Butland for Federici and you are okay”, “I’d expect Bojan and Etebo to replace Fletcher and Ndiaye at Leeds.”

“From the first half we don't sound like we have a clue what to do with the ball. Crosses didn't reach anyone and it’s all very familiar. We will have trouble scoring goals this season”, “We looked very much like the end of last season, with plenty of square passing and not a shot on goal the first half.”

City fans worry about both a lack of pace and strength in depth in defence, but a greater concern is their lack of creativity or a goal threat. “Clearly we need a new striker”, “Without Etebo there was nobody to link play in the final third. We need a number 10 or someone to allow him to push on.”

Rowett switched formation to look at his wider squad. “We kept the system up to 65 minutes and then went 4-4-2 (above) when Saido Berahino came on. We didn't create much, but Etebo was a huge positive”, “Much as I like Mame Diouf, he is not the answer. As for Berahino, words fail me.”

Taking Nothing for Granted

“If I can't dream of being champions this August I can never dream of being champions and I have missed this feeling. The blind optimism of early August is part of what makes football worth it and part of what makes the Premier League so unfulfilling”, “Top six and then the play-offs. Oh s***!”.

“Clubs that buy loads of players and start the season with practically a whole new team can have problems getting everyone to gel and often do really badly. My major concern is that if we do get all of our rumoured targets and then follow that with a load of departures, we may have that problem.”

Many expect a slow start with the team having to get to grips with unfamiliar surroundings. “We have more quality than most, but we won't automatically be better just because our opponents don't have household names. The new team will take time to grow as they need to learn on the job.”

“I think we have a better squad than in the last promotion season, but I haven't the first clue about the teams around us”, “At the moment I am praying we can somehow sneak into the final play off place”, “I’m not sure which division we will be in next season, but I think I will just enjoy the ride.”

Websites

The busiest Potters’ message-board is very knowledgeable and friendly The Oatcake.

@HarryFromBath

Photo: Action Images

Oldsmoker added 12:40 - Jul 27 James McClean - leg breaker. WBA sold him to Stoke so it seems we were destined to have face this guy. I'm hoping he's serving a ban when we face Stoke. As usual for relegated teams their fans think they can walk this division. They're the bookies favourite but I expect some of their players will express astonishment at how tough the Champioship is. Rowett has been here before but very few of their players have so can he handle the expectations of a top 6 place. I'd like to have seen Shaqiri play in the championship but that ship has sailed. I suspect he would have hated it.

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carlo88 added 15:32 - Jul 27 Until Rowett decides to stick around somewhere for more than a year who know how good he is.
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